These Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas are the ultimate in easy comfort food. This Mexican slow-cooked pulled pork is super easy to prep in less than ten minutes and cooks up easily in the Crock Pot!
Last weekend we had three other couples over to the house for a little get together. As you know if you’re a regular reader, my husband (American Army) is attending a multinational course in England, so we had a couple from here in England, a French couple, and Australians.
I planned a Mexican buffet because it seemed like such an easy meal to serve a crowd. About an hour before everyone arrived I had a moment of panic-what if they didn’t like Mexican food?? In the States we have Mexican restaurants on every corner-I haven’t seen many here in the UK, and ohmygoodness, what about the French-would they like Mexican food?
Luckily these Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas were a huge hit and everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner.
This is a fantastic meal to throw together in the crock pot and just forget it. It literally takes 5 minutes to prep and turns out perfectly every time!
Pork Carnitas Ingredients (No Lard Version)
- 4 lb pork shoulder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 small or 1 large orange
- 2 limes
If you want to get fancy you can remove the meat to a pan and broil it or cook it in a saucepan to caramelize the pork but I find that it’s delicious without the extra step-and I’m all about making things easy in the kitchen-especially when entertaining!
We set up our buffet with hard and soft taco shells, Mexican rice, salsa, guacamole, and cheese and it was a big hit!
For another option, check out these slow cooker carnitas-style chicken recipe and Instant Pot carnitas!
For a more traditionally flavored pulled pork, check out this recipe for slow cooker pulled pork!
If you’ve tried this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see more delicious recipes and life updates.
Print
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: dinner
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: mexican
Description
These Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas are the ultimate in easy comfort food. This Mexican slow cooked pulled pork is super easy to prep in less than ten minutes and cooks up easily in the Crock Pot!
Ingredients
- 4 lb pork shoulder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 small or 1 large orange
- 2 limes
Instructions
- Mix cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder and oregano in a small bowl.
- Rub the spice mixture on all sides of the pork shoulder and place in a slow cooker with fat rind on top.
- Top meat with onion and garlic cloves.
- Cut limes and oranges in half, squeeze juice over pork and add fruit to the top of the meat.
- Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 7-8 hours.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove fruit and garlic and any fatty pieces.
- Shred meat with two forks and serve immediately.
Keywords: pork carnitas
What are your favorite meals for entertaining a crowd? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
turned out wonderfully!
★★★★★